So look at Jeremiah 34 verse number 8.
It reads,
The title for the sermon this evening is Proclaim Liberty.
Proclaim Liberty.
You know God has given us a lot of liberty.
Not only have we been made free,
another word for liberty is freedom,
not only have we been made free from the burdens of our sins,
from the consequences of our sin through salvation,
but God gives us the liberty to live the life that we choose.
You know we can live a very godly and righteous life
and God would love that to be the case.
Or He allows us to sin.
You know He allows us to go ahead and walk in weakness
and walk against His ways.
There's liberty to do that as well.
But you need to understand if you live that life there are consequences.
Okay but you know God has given us our freedoms,
He's given us liberty when He created Adam in the Garden of Eden.
He said, Adam you can eat of every tree except one.
And so you know that's how God has created man.
There are many options, there are many ways of life,
many ways of living, many ways are correct,
many ways are wrong and God will bring His judgment and chastisement upon you.
But you are free to choose if you want to eat of all the trees that God allows you
or to go for that one tree that God does not allow you.
But God gives you the liberty to decide
and there are consequences for the actions that you take.
So let's start there in verse number one.
As I said the title for the sermon this evening is Proclaim Liberty.
Verse number one.
The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord,
when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army
and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion and all the people
fought against Jerusalem against all the cities thereof seen.
So we're now again King Zedekiah the last king of Judah before the captivity
and we have battle taking place.
Babylonian armies are trying to take the city of Jerusalem.
There's a battle in the midst of the teaching of Jeremiah
and it is estimated that this took place about 586 BC.
Look at verse number two.
Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel,
Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him,
Thus saith the Lord, Behold I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon
and he shall burn it with fire.
Now I want you to remember what is going on.
Is Nebuchadnezzar a wicked king? Yes.
Is Babylon a wicked empire? Yes.
Do they worship the God of Israel? Do they worship the God of the Bible? No.
Now eventually later in his life Nebuchadnezzar does believe in the Lord.
He does get saved. He does become righteous.
But at this point in time he is a wicked man.
It's a wicked nation battling another wicked nation.
The nation of Judah was another wicked nation.
And I want you to understand that God is allowing this wicked nation
to take over his people, to take over Jerusalem
to the point that God will even allow them to burn it with fire.
Now keep your finger there. Please go to Jeremiah 52.
Turn to Jeremiah, the last chapter of the book, Jeremiah 52.
And I want you to remember something.
God many times allows wicked governments, wicked powers
to do wicked things.
And God is the one that gives them the ability to do that.
And then guess what happens?
God will then judge that nation for the wickedness that they have done.
So setting the city of Jerusalem on fire,
I'm not saying that was the right thing to do,
but God allowed them to do that.
God gave them power. God gave them the authority to do that.
And if you look at Jeremiah 52 verse 12, because I want you to remember this,
I really want this buried in your mind,
especially in these days where we've seen restrictions and mandates
and things that wicked governments are enforcing on churches.
I want you to remember what's taking place here in Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 52 verse 12.
Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month,
which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar,
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
came Nebuchadnezzar, captain of the guard,
which served the king of Babylon into Jerusalem,
look at this,
and burned the house of the Lord and the king's house
and all the houses of Jerusalem and all the houses of the great men,
burned here with fire,
and all the army of the Chaldeans that were with the captain of the guard
break down all the walls of Jerusalem roundabouts.
So when we get to Jeremiah 52, you see what they're destroying.
What's one of the first things they light on fire?
The house of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, okay?
So when we look at this, we know the temple in the Old Testament,
Solomon's temple, was the house of God.
What is the house of God in the New Testament?
Your local New Testament church.
Blessed Hope Baptist Church, okay?
I want you to remember this, because we live in strange days.
We live in days where governments, there are wicked governments,
there are wicked politicians, wicked powers,
and they flex their muscles, don't they?
You know, they try to bring in restrictions and mandates
that make people uncomfortable, not just churches,
but businesses, way of life of people.
But I want you to understand, when these things take place,
God has given them the power, God is allowing them to do this.
Whether it's right or wrong is a different question.
You need to understand, God is the one that gives these authorities the power.
And you know what? I don't like it when our church is affected.
I don't rejoice, praise God, that we can't sing, you know, whatever it is,
you know, whatever restrictions.
I just think, well, God, you've given them power,
you've given the ability to affect the house of God even.
This is not, hey, 2021, well, we've seen it in Jeremiah's day.
Hey, if they want to try to burn it all down, well, God,
if you give them that power to do it, they'll do it.
We're just going to continue trying to serve you as best as we can,
regardless of what effects there might be.
And so what I'm trying to say to you, brethren,
is that we can be at peace when our churches are affected by wicked governments.
You don't have to panic and worry and rebel.
You know what? If they want to try to take on God's house,
let them, God's given them power, God will eventually judge them as well,
and we just do the best we can as God's people to praise Him, to worship Him.
Hey, maybe to go to someone's house like we did going to my house to have church service.
We'll find a way, we'll find a loophole, we'll find a way, right?
To serve God to the best ability that we can.
And guess what? That gives you a lot of peace when you understand that simple truth,
that God has given these wicked government's powers, yes, even to affect God's house.
Can you please go back to Jeremiah 34, look at verse number 3.
God says to Zedekiah, King Zedekiah,
And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken,
and delivered into his hand, and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon,
and he shall speak with thee, mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.
I should have told you to stay in Jeremiah 52. Please go back to Jeremiah 52.
So Jeremiah is prophesying to Zedekiah that you're going to see the king of Babylon.
You're going to speak to the king of Babylon, okay?
You're going to be taken into captivity.
But I want you to notice what the end of Zedekiah was.
In Jeremiah 52, look at verse number 8.
Jeremiah 52 and verse number 8, it says,
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king,
and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho,
and all his army was scattered from him.
So what happens? Zedekiah tries to flee, okay?
He realizes this, we're not going to win now.
He tries to run away with the armies that he has, but he gets pursued after the king.
Well, what did Jeremiah say in verse number 3?
In Jeremiah 34, verse number 3, it says,
Jeremiah really knows that you're going to try to run away,
because God knows all things, right?
He knows the beginning from the end.
He knows the end from the beginning.
God is outside of time.
But you can see, he tries anyway.
Even though Jeremiah prophesied you won't escape,
Zedekiah still tries to run away, okay?
It gets overtaken.
But let's keep going. Drop down to verse number 10.
What's the end of Zedekiah here?
It says,
So Zedekiah was not killed at this time.
He was not killed in battle.
He was not killed by Nebuchadnezzar.
But what's the last thing he saw with his eyes?
He saw the king of Babylon,
then the king of Babylon takes his own children,
slays them in front of his eyes,
slays all the powerful people that were in his kingdom, right?
What did it say again?
All the princes of Judah, so family,
all those that are in his family line.
That's the last thing he sees,
and then Nebuchadnezzar takes out his eyes.
So he goes blind.
Okay? I mean, imagine that.
That's the last thing you see in your life.
You know, your royal family, your own children being put to death,
and then you're blinded.
Then he's taken into prison, into Babylon,
and he dies in prison.
Now, I think it's quite interesting that, you know,
even though there was so much death in this time,
and normally when one nation takes over another nation in these times,
they would kill the king, you know, as a show of power.
As a show, hey, there's been a change that's taken place here,
that's taken place here.
And I believe in this chapter, Jeremiah 34,
we learn the reason why Zedekiah was not put to death,
and that he was taken to prison.
Eventually he just died from natural causes.
He lived out his natural life.
He died in prison.
And that might sound horrible,
but when you go back to Jeremiah 34 and verse number 4,
Jeremiah 34 and verse number 4,
we actually learn a little bit more as we keep going here.
It says,
Ye hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah.
Thus saith the Lord of thee, thou shalt not die by the sword.
Okay, so that was, again, that was prophesied.
But then verse number 5 is interesting.
It says,
But thou shalt die in peace.
Wow.
So even though he's blinded,
he's had his children and his family all kill the royal family,
all the powerful people in his kingdom,
even though he's taken into prison,
Jeremiah says, well, you're going to die in peace.
Okay?
You're going to die from natural causes.
You're going to live out your natural life.
And I thought this was quite interesting that,
you know, even though Zedekiah had done wrong with Jeremiah,
he had done wrong to the Lord,
God still allows him to live a life of peace.
And I'm kind of encouraged when I read this
because I don't like the thought of one day being put in prison.
I wish, I hope that never happens,
but it might happen.
You know, just preaching God's word without compromise
might land you in trouble.
Okay?
I don't want to get into trouble,
but it might happen.
And here's the thing, the simple truth that we learn here,
if you end up in prison, your life, okay,
God can still give you peace in that position, in that place.
Okay?
God can still give you peace.
You know, it blows my mind that, you know what,
something that we need to learn as Christians
is no matter what state we find ourselves in,
you know, we live in a blessed country, still blessed.
We're still living off the blessings of the past.
You know?
And things get worse and, oh, I've got to wear the mask,
you know what, we can be at peace no matter what.
You know, maybe God allows us to go through some mandates and restrictions.
Maybe God's allowing us to go through some frustrations
and, you know, the turmoil of COVID and all these kinds of things
just so we learn how to be peaceful in whatever situation we find ourselves in.
Maybe we were just a little bit spoiled
when things were easy and easy going
and we could just travel easily, travel internationally easily,
you know, no border issues.
Maybe we just took it for granted.
Maybe we were a bit spoiled.
Maybe we did not bless and thank the Lord enough.
And so God has allowed some, you know, wicked powers to come,
make it frustrating so we can just learn how to be peaceful
even in troubled times.
Verse number five, let's keep going.
But thou shalt die in peace, and with the burnings of thy father,
the former kings which were before thee,
so shall they burn odours for thee,
and they will lament thee, saying, Our Lord,
for I have pronounced the word, saith the Lord.
So he's blind, in prison, but he can still die peacefully, you know,
and he's also going to be remembered, okay.
He's kind of going to be like the other king.
He's not just going to die and be forgotten.
You know, Jeremiah is basically saying you're going to be remembered.
People are going to remember you.
You know, they're going to give you, you know, proper memorial services
and burn the incense or whatever else they would do for kings.
Well, you're going to have that same respectful funeral, basically, Zedekiah.
And I do believe we learn why that took place.
Even though he was against Jeremiah, against the preaching of God's word,
he actually tries to do something right in this chapter, okay.
Now, again, I want to just reinforce the fact that we can be at peace, okay.
And, you know, as you guys know, I travel almost every week to the Sunshine Coast,
and you still have to wear masks in the airport.
You still have to wear masks on the plane to travel, okay.
But you know what, brethren, I've learned to be at peace.
You think wearing a mask is as bad as being blinded?
Like having your children murdered in front of you, being blinded, put in prison,
and God says you can still be at peace?
Oh, the masks!
Oh, man, are you serious? Who cares?
We can still be at peace.
And you know what, if that bothered me so much,
I would not be on the Sunshine Coast serving that church.
I would not be able to travel back and forth, right.
If that was such a major issue, you know,
I would not be able to serve the brethren up there
while I'm trying to serve you guys down here.
So who cares? A bit of a mask, man, a little bit of frustration, you know.
I mean, as soon as I get out of the airport, I take it off,
and I breathe in the sweet air of the Sunshine Coast, it's beautiful.
But you know what, I've just learned, you know what, I'm going to be at peace.
On that one hour and 20-minute flight, I just got to sleep,
so I don't think about the mask too much, right.
And I just learned to be at peace, you know.
I hope you guys use these opportunities, these frustrating times, okay.
Again, Melbourne's in lockdown once again.
I don't know if Sydney's going to be in lockdown again, if who knows, right.
Who knows?
But I want you to remember, you know what, no matter how hard things get,
at least I'm not going to be blinded.
My kids are going to be murdered in front of me, put in prison,
because God would still expect you, if that happened, for you to be at peace, okay.
Verse number 6, Jeremiah 34, verse number 6.
Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem.
I love this portion of scripture.
So Jeremiah is now again preaching to Zedekiah.
But notice what's going around him.
It says when, so he's preaching this when,
the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem
and against all the cities of Judah that were left,
against Lasich and against Azekah,
for these defence cities remained of the cities of Judah.
So Jeremiah, there's battle going on.
There's death on both sides, okay.
The people of Jerusalem are trying to defend their city.
They're getting destroyed, right.
There's a war, there's battle.
And what's Jeremiah doing?
Still preaching God's word.
Who cares?
Arrows flying past him, right.
You know, soldiers fighting swords and dead bodies is like,
well, you know, I'm just going to continue preaching God's word.
I just love that portion.
He keeps preaching to Zedekiah.
Nothing's stopping him.
And I'm just encouraged by that.
And I hope I can be like Jeremiah.
So no matter how bad things get,
in the middle of World War III,
Sydney's on fire, right.
Maybe some atomic bomb gets dropped in the city.
I'm going to be here anyway if it's all good
and we're going to be preaching God's word.
We don't stop, we just continue.
And that's what I like about Jeremiah.
It doesn't seem like it's all bothering him.
It doesn't look too concerned.
No, I'm just going to continue preaching God's word.
Okay.
So it's a great motivation for the preacher.
You know, don't stop preaching God's word.
Verse number eight.
This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the Lord,
after that the king of Zedekiah had made a covenant
with all the people which were at Jerusalem
to proclaim liberty unto them.
All right, so this is where we get the title
Proclaim Liberty From.
So I'll explain to you what's going on
and then we'll confirm that later
as we keep going through this chapter.
But Zedekiah creates a covenant or agreement.
He sets a new law in the midst of battle.
And he says, look, we need to proclaim liberty.
The reason he's doing this is because
he knows it's wrong with God.
And he's trying to appease God.
He's trying to make God happy.
So what is it that Zedekiah does?
Verse number nine.
So what is this covenant?
What is this new law that he's placed in?
He says that every man should let his manservant
and every man his maidservant, being in Hebrew
or in Hebrew s, go free,
that none should serve himself of them
to wit of a Jew his brother.
Now keep your finger there
and go to Deuteronomy chapter 15.
Deuteronomy chapter 15.
I think this is an important thing to cover.
Deuteronomy chapter 15, please.
So in this time, you could sell yourself
into employment or servitude.
Okay, you're allowed to do that.
Many people read the Bible
and God condones slavery.
This is not slavery.
People are just basically taking on employment
and basically the terms of the employment
were just a lot more stricter.
If you were put under this servitude,
basically the master owned your life.
You wouldn't just work your eight hours
and be done and go home.
No, you'd basically be the servant
24 hours a day.
That's basically how it is, right?
But again, this is willingly,
this is a transaction that was willingly done
by the person that's making themselves a servant.
It's not slavery.
Look at Deuteronomy chapter 15 and verse number 12.
And if thy brother and Hebrew man
or an Hebrew woman be sold unto thee,
because that sounds like slavery.
They're being sold to you.
Yeah, they're selling themselves.
They're in financial hardship.
So they say, look, the only way I can take care
of these financial needs
is to sell myself into employment.
That's what's going on here.
And serve thee six years.
This is important.
And then in the seventh year,
thou shall let him go free from thee.
Very clear.
So you can only have a servant
for a maximum of six years.
Once they've served for six years,
you let them go.
They're free.
They're set at liberty.
This is the law that Zedekiah
is trying to place into Jerusalem.
Let your servants go.
Why would Zedekiah, King Zedekiah,
have to put this into law?
Let your servants go.
Why do you think he's trying to do this?
Because they haven't been doing it.
After six years, the seventh year
has rolled around
and they're still keeping their servants
under servitude instead of letting them go.
Instead of sending them at liberty,
they're disobeying these
clear commandments of God.
Look at verse number 13,
Jeremy chapter 15, verse number 13.
And when thou sendest him out free from thee,
that's on the seventh year,
thou shall not let him go away empty,
thou shall furnish him liberally
out of thy flock and out of thy floor
and out of thy winepress
or that wherewith the Lord thy God have blessed thee,
thou shall give unto him.
And thou shalt remember
that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt
and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.
Therefore I command this thing today.
So boy, this is not slavery, right?
As soon as they finish their six years of employment,
you let them go and you give them,
you furnish them, you bless them
with all the things they've been able to help you achieve.
You know, you bless them, you give them
so that they're not going without, right?
They can get back to their normal life,
but they have enough to be able to, you know,
take a good step forward back into, you know,
their normal, you know, free, liberal life, okay?
And God says, when you do this,
when you let them go free on the seventh year,
this should bring to remembrance the fact
that as a nation, you guys were under bondage in Egypt
and then I let you go free.
I got you out of Egypt.
That's what it represents, okay?
And so what are they doing?
They're not following what God has instructed them.
The people at this time were not allowing
their servants to go on the seventh year.
In other words, they had forgotten
that God had delivered them out of Egypt, okay?
So Zedekiah knows they've done wrong.
They're not following these instructions.
So he says, look, let your servants go.
Let them go.
He's trying to appease God.
He's trying to make God happy
because they've been disobedient all this time, okay?
Verse number 10, back to Jeremiah.
34, verse number 10.
Now when all the princes and all the people
which had entered into the covenants
heard that everyone should let his manservants
and everyone his maidservant go free,
that none should serve themselves of them anymore,
then they obeyed and let them go.
So good, all right?
You can see that these are mainly richer people,
princes, right, people that have wealth.
These are the ones that are gonna have the servants, right?
And they heard, all right, King Zedekiah said,
let them go free.
They obeyed, they let them go.
Look at verse number 11.
But afterward they turned
and caused the servants and the handmaids
whom they had let go free to return
and brought them into subjection for servants
and for handmaids.
So they changed their mind, okay?
Now this change of mind symbolizes
really two very interesting stories, okay?
Number one, remember once God, you know,
sent all the plagues into Egypt
when the firstborn of every Egyptian died
where Pharaoh finally let the people go, okay?
And so Moses was able to lead
the children of Israel out of Egypt
and then what happened?
Pharaoh changed his mind, all right?
He said, let's go and bring them back, okay?
Well, that symbolizes that.
But not only that, it symbolizes the fact that,
well, sorry, that it's that greater picture of Israel
that when God established
the Old Testament covenant with Israel,
Moses asked the people,
do you want to enter this covenant?
Do you want to be God's people?
Do you want this God that delivered you out of Egypt?
Do you want this God to be your God?
Because if you do, you need to enter into this covenant.
And the people said, yes, we want to do it.
Yes, we'll obey the laws that God has put us
into this covenant, into the Ten Commandments
and all the rhymes of Moses.
They agreed to do it.
But look, it didn't take long
when they changed their minds.
It didn't take long before they sought other gods
and they were disobedient to God's word.
Again, the people here, as we're in for this,
again, symbolizes the fact
that they've had this change of mind.
Do you think God will be happy with these people now?
Look, Zedekiah is trying to do the right thing now, finally.
He's panicked.
Maybe this will appease God.
Maybe this will make God happy.
And I believe this is why Zedekiah was not put to death.
I believe this is why Zedekiah was allowed to live a life,
even though he was in prison,
to live a life of peace.
Because he's trying to do what is right,
even though he messed up many, many times.
Jeremiah 34, verse number 12.
Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah
from the Lord, saying,
Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel,
I made a covenant with your fathers
in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondmen, saying,
At the end of seven years,
let ye go, every man his brother and Hebrew,
which have been sowed unto thee,
and when he have served thee six years,
thou shalt let him feel free from thee.
But your fathers hearkened not unto thee,
neither inclined their ear.
So again, it's basically what we saw in the book of Deuteronomy.
God's reminding them, I told you this.
It's part of the covenant.
At the end of six years, let them go.
But your fathers did not obey.
They did not listen to it.
So you can see again, this confirms the fact
that Zedekiah is trying to do the right thing.
He knows the people in Jerusalem, maybe himself,
have had servants for longer than the appointed six years.
He's trying to appease God, trying to make God happy.
Verse number 15.
And ye were now turned.
So you changed your minds.
And ye were now turned.
So Zedekiah changed his mind about this.
He said, we need to give them liberty.
We need to let them go.
I like what God says.
And had done right in my sight.
Wow.
Zedekiah has messed up so many times.
God's judgment is falling upon his kingdom.
And yet Zedekiah does this one right thing.
Hey guys, let the servants go.
And God says, you've done right in my sight.
I love that about God.
Because we don't always do what is right, do we?
We make many mistakes.
And yet, you know what?
God's not just seeking to destroy us immediately
or something when we do wrong.
God's just looking, what is that one right thing that you're doing?
You know, God would rather focus on the one right thing that you're doing
than all the other wrong things that you have done.
I love that about God, right?
I mean, Zedekiah's hopeless.
Zedekiah's heart is against God.
But he tried just one good thing.
And God recognizes you've done right in my sight.
Okay?
This is why, again, I believe Zedekiah was able to live out his life in peace.
And then he keeps going.
In verse 15 it says,
In proclaiming liberty, every man to his neighbor.
So you've done that right.
And ye had made a covenant before me in the house,
which is called by my name.
Verse 16.
But ye turned and polluted my name,
and caused every man his servant and every man his handmaid,
whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure,
to return and brought them into subjection
to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.
Therefore, thus saith the Lord,
Ye have not hearkened unto me in proclaiming liberty,
every one to his brother and every man to his neighbor.
Now look what God says.
So this is the punishment.
Behold, I proclaim a liberty for you.
He goes, all right.
You said you were going to let them go free,
but you didn't do it.
Well, you know what?
I'm going to give you liberty, now he says.
What kind of liberty are you going to give them, Lord?
Because liberty sounds great.
Why, being free?
Being your own man, right?
Being able to do what you want to do?
Well, this is the liberty that these people,
that disobeyed God are going to receive.
He says, behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the Lord,
to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine,
and I will make it to be removed in all the kingdoms of the earth.
He goes, what?
You want to be free to sin?
You want the liberty of doing whatever you want?
You want the liberty of just being able to disobey?
Okay, you can have the liberty,
but it's going to lead you to sword and famine
and to be taken into captivity to all the other nations of the earth.
So, brethren, you do have liberty to sin, okay?
But you understand there are consequences.
God's going to judge you for that.
If that's really what you want to do, you can sin.
You can disobey God.
I mean, it's your choice, really, brethren.
This makes pastoring very easy.
It's my job just to preach God's word, okay?
And then you have the liberty to decide,
do I follow what I heard or do I not?
You have the liberty, okay?
It's not my job as a pastor to go and force you to live a righteous life.
My job, like Jeremiah, is to just preach what is true
and please do the best you can to do what is right.
But you do have the liberty to disobey.
You have the liberty to do what is wrong,
but understand there are consequences, okay?
There are consequences to those kinds of decisions.
Can you please go to Matthew 18?
Keep your finger there and go to Matthew chapter 18.
Matthew chapter 18.
While you're turning to Matthew 18,
I'm going to read to you from Revelation 22 verse 11.
I know this was a verse that I would struggle to understand
when I was younger in Revelation 22, 11.
You guys go to Matthew 18.
But in Revelation 22, 11, it says,
He that is unjust, let him be unjust still.
So if someone wants to be wrong, ungodly and unjust,
just let them, is what it says, okay?
Let him be filthy still.
And he which is filthy, let him be filthy still.
And he that is righteous, let him be righteous still.
And he that is holy, let him be holy still.
So if someone wants to live righteously and holy,
let them live righteously and holy.
If someone wants to live ungodly, filthy lives, unjust lives,
let them live filthy, unjust lives.
People have liberty to decide what they want, okay?
We experience this when we go door to door soul winning.
Our jobs preach God's word like Jeremiah, like a pastor.
We preach him God's word. We tell them the truth.
We tell them they have to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved.
But then guess what? They have the liberty to decide.
Do I believe it? Do I follow God's word or do I reject it?
Hey, and if they want to be unjust and unjust still, let them be unjust still, okay?
You cannot force somebody to believe in Jesus Christ.
All they're commanded to do, brethren, is preach God's word.
People have the liberty to decide what they want to do.
You don't have to burden yourself with their decisions.
It's their decision. Let them decide.
If someone wants to be made righteous, let them be made righteous by believing on the gospel, okay?
And you know what? Preaching at church, it's no different.
You know, I know I preach things and I know you guys don't listen to it.
I know it happens. But you know what? It doesn't bother me.
I sleep like a baby, honestly.
You know, I'm just like, well God, they're your children.
You know, and I pray for you guys and I intercede and I pray.
But at the end of the day, you know, there are consequences.
I have consequences for my wrong.
You guys are going to face the consequences if you're wrong.
But you have the liberty to decide how you want to live your life, okay?
It's usually the cults.
You know, when you've got a pastor that's trying to control your life,
I'm telling you, you're in the wrong place.
You've got to get out of there, okay?
There's something wrong with that church when a pastor is trying to control every step of your life.
Who you can marry, when you can go on holidays.
You know, look, pastor's job, preach God's word, you have the liberty.
If you want to be filthy, let him be filthy still.
It's up to you. But again, there are consequences, okay, to that kind of living.
You're in Matthew 18, verse number 21.
The reason we're tuned here is because we learn the parable of basically that Christ thought about forgiveness, okay?
And the reason I'm reading this passage to you is because God is reminding them that
I delivered you, I gave you liberty, I've given you freedom from Egypt, okay?
And that was a great freedom, great liberty.
But you're not doing it to your fellow man, okay?
And because you're not doing it to your fellow man, letting them go after the end of the six years,
then they're facing significant consequences for not doing even what God has done for that nation.
So in Matthew 18, verse number 21, I'll read it to you quickly.
That's pretty good, I think.
If someone does you wrong seven times and you forgive them seven times, I think you're a wonderful person.
I think it'd be hard to forgive someone seven times if they wronged you seven times.
Would you admit that?
Impossible two times, okay?
Verse number 22, Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee until seven times, but until seventy times seven.
What's seventy times seven?
490.
490, okay.
Remember that number, 490, because it does tie into Jeremiah.
We'll go back to it soon.
Verse number 23, therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king,
which would take account of his servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
But for as much as he could not pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children,
and all that he had, and payment to be made.
The servant therefore fell down in worship, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
Wow, okay, so this king in this story, this parable, has a servant.
The servant owes him, how much was it?
Ten thousand talents, I don't know what that is, okay?
But it's a significant amount of money, okay?
And so the king was going to sell him, right, into servitude so he could pay off his debt.
But because he sees how this man has, you know, bowed down and humbled himself and asked for forgiveness,
he lets him go, he forgives him the debt.
Okay, that's wonderful, great story.
Verse number 28.
But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him a hundred pence,
and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
So this guy has another servant himself that owes him money.
Okay, but it's only a hundred pence.
You know, basically to get an idea, a penny is basically a day's wage in this time.
Okay, so a hundred pence, a hundred days of labor, for example, okay?
Verse number 29.
And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
And he would not, but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
So was this man willing to forgive? No.
Okay, he was forgiven for a much greater debt, but he would not forgive his own servant for a much smaller debt.
Verse number 31.
So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their Lord all that was done.
Then his Lord after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desirest me.
Shouldst not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee?
And his Lord was wroth, and delivered him into the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
So you can see what happens, right? The kings are happy.
I forgave you for a much more significant amount, and this is what you do to your servant that owes you less?
Listen, brother, this is why we need to learn to forgive each other.
Because no matter what someone has done to you, no matter how much wrong they've done to you, you've done so much more wrong to God.
And God has forgiven you your debt. God has paid for your sins through Jesus Christ, and has forgiven you for all your sins.
And so if God is able to forgive you of your debt, you know what, when someone wrongs you, you ought to be able to forgive them as well.
Okay? It will not compare to how much wrong you have done against the Lord.
Look at verse number 35.
So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if you from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
So brethren, you need to remember this. You want God to forgive you? God's forgiven you? Salvation? Yes.
Don't forget we have our walk with the Lord, and we need forgiveness for that walk to be able to be in close fellowship with God.
But if someone has wronged you, okay, and they want to get that right, you ought to be able to forgive people.
You need to learn how to do it, not hold a grudge. Otherwise God's not going to forgive you.
If you cannot forgive your fellow man, you will not have a good fellowship with God.
You will not be walking with God, because God's not going to forgive you in your daily walk if you cannot forgive others.
It's an important lesson for us to learn, okay? God was able to deliver them, give them liberty out of Egypt, but they would not give liberty to their own fellow man.
It's the same principle, the same problem that took place in the days of Jeremiah.
Keep your finger there in Matthew 18, because we are going to come back to Matthew 18.
Look at verse number 18.
So let me just make sure I've got my right place here. Yeah, verse number 18, Jeremiah 34, verse number 18.
It says,
That's basically, God is saying that the calf that was cut in twain, that was basically the sacrifice that was made to enforce this covenant, this agreement with God and the people of Israel.
Verse number 19.
The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs and the priests, and all the people of the land which pass between the parts of the calf.
And I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of heaven and to the beasts of the earth.
So again, this is why I believe Zedekiah was able to live a long life.
Because these people that did not follow the covenant, these people that did not listen to Zedekiah, that changed their mind and brought their people back as servants, God said, you're going to die.
Why didn't Zedekiah die then? Because he's trying to make it right. He's trying to do one right thing.
And God has had enough mercy with him to not kill him on the spot, but to be taken into captivity and to live out his life in peace.
Please remember this. Please remember this. When people wrong you, when people have done things against you, remember what the Lord has done for you.
Remember how he has forgiven you. Make sure you remember what God has done, and then you'll be able to forgive others.
When you're struggling to forgive, when you're getting bits about what someone has done, what has God done for me?
It's such a boy that humbles you. It brings you back. It gives you clarity of mind. It gives you peace.
Verse number 21.
And Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his princes, I will give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which have gone up from you.
Verse number 22. Behold, I will command, save the Lord, and cause them to return to this city, and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire, and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.
So once again, God's reminding them, when they come, they're going to burn it all up. The city's destroyed.
It's not going to, that's why they had to, at the end of the captivity, come back and rebuild it from scratch.
Okay. Now, we're going to move away from Jeremiah. I hope you still have a finger in Matthew 18. We're not going there just yet. Please go to 2 Chronicles chapter 36.
2 Chronicles chapter 36, because I want to show you something here. 2 Chronicles chapter 36.
We're looking at the history book here, as to what took place when Nebuchadnezzar allowed or caused for Jerusalem to be destroyed in the fire.
2 Chronicles chapter 36, please, and verse number 19. I'll give you just a moment to turn there. I really want you to see this. 2 Chronicles 36, 19.
It says,
Now notice verse number 21.
So what was it that Jeremiah preached? We're going through Jeremiah. What was it? What is God fulfilling from the mouth of Jeremiah?
What's free score in 10 years? Remember, score is 20. Free score is 3 times 20, 60, and 10, 70 years, because Jeremiah prophesied that they would be taken into captivity for 70 years, and the land will be made desolate.
Okay. Nobody will be working the land. But notice, why was it 70 years? Have you ever wondered why did God allow them to go into captivity for 70 years?
Well, God explains that in 2 Chronicles, and we actually do learn about it in Jeremiah 34. Okay. Let me read verse number 21 again. Just notice the words.
Until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. So the land was not enjoying her Sabbaths. Okay. For as long as she lay desolate, she kept Sabbath to fulfill.
So God will fulfill the Sabbaths in those 70 years. So what is that about? Okay. What is a Sabbath? Well, when we think about the week, Sabbath is Saturday.
So it's the seventh day of the week, right? Six days that shout out labor, and then you've got the seventh day of rest, the Sabbath day.
Well, God also had a law of Sabbath of years, and this is what we've already looked at with the servants. They're taken into employment, right?
They're taken into servitude for six years, but on the Sabbath, on the seventh year, the Sabbath year, they're let go free. Okay. You see that parallel?
Well, not only did God have that kind of law for servants, he also put that into law with the land. Okay. God gave them the land, and they were to work in the land.
They could farm and grow crops, and then after six years, the seventh year, the land would have a Sabbath. In other words, there would be no farming on the land on the seventh year.
To allow the land to be re-fertilized, right, to be nourished once again, not to be used and used and used, because eventually the land loses its fertility, and it cannot produce as much as it would if you just gave it some rest.
Okay. So even the land was allowed to have a time of Sabbath, a year of Sabbath. Okay. So look, yeah, that requires some faith, doesn't it?
Okay, God, I'm going to work my land, I'm going to grow my crops for six years, and then you don't want me to farm on the seventh year? God, what's going to happen on the seventh year?
Are you going to go hungry? You think. Look, if God tells you to do it this way, don't you think he's going to make sure you have enough crops, you have enough grain saved up in those six years for the seventh year where you're not growing crops?
That's God's way for us to live by faith, to go, well, God, you know what, I think I can make more profit if I work the seventh year, and that's what took place.
They thought, well, why give the seventh year as a Sabbath and let the land rest? No, we can have more profit. We can have more if we work the land.
Why let the servants go at the end of six years? We can have them at seventh year and they can work more. We can get more productivity, so they think.
That's what man thinks. God says, no, just do it. Do it the way I told you. Do it the way I told you.
Six days, seventh day, let it rest. Seventh year, let the land rest. Seventh year, let your servants go.
And I'll make sure I take care of it because of what you've done through those six years. If you obey God, he'll take care of that seventh year.
Clear commandments of God. Guess what? They didn't do it. They did not let the servants go on the seventh year.
They did not let the land rest on the Sabbath year. So what happens? Why was it seventy years of captivity?
Because if you take seventy years, that's basically, they did not fulfil the law of Sabbath for those seventy years.
So if you take seventy years and you times it by seven, like the parable of the forgiveness, you get to four hundred and ninety years.
So what is happening here? For four hundred and ninety years, the Jews did not obey God's law of the Sabbath.
They did not let the land rest. They did not let the servants go. For four hundred and ninety years.
So that's seventy years of Sabbath, of letting the land rest and the servants go, that would not be honoured, that would not be fulfilled.
So God says, alright, if that's how you want to do it, I'll take those seventy years. You guys go into captivity, we'll let the land rest.
You can't have your own servants. We'll let them go. Seventy years of captivity so the land can fulfil its Sabbaths.
That's why it's seventy years. Hope that makes sense. By looking at these passages together, it makes a lot more sense.
I hope you have a finger in Matthew 18. Please go to Matthew 18 now and verse number 15. Let's tie it in with the forgiveness part.
Let's tie it in with these kinds of questions that pop up and the parallels, the application that we want to apply this to our Christian life.
The point of this brethren, why is God so angry? They would not obey God. Isn't that simple?
Give the land rest in the seventh year. God will take care of it. Get your servants for six years. Let them go at the end of seventh year.
Aren't these easy, plain things to understand by God? And yet they disobeyed. They thought we'll do it our way and God brings judgment.
But it took 490 years for that judgment to fall and it was a severe judgment. Here's the lesson.
When you disobey God, you have the liberty to disobey God. You'll sin and you'll feel like you got away with it.
You might go day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year in sin.
Hey, seems like I'm getting away with it. You know what? God's keeping an account.
God's judgment's about to fall. God gives you time. God gives you time.
The reason God just doesn't bring the hammer down as soon as you sin is because He's merciful, He's long suffering, He's a forgiven God.
Just like Zedekiah. He tries to do one thing right and God recognizes, wow, you're doing one thing right?
You're still going to suffer for all the wrong you've done but at least you're going to live out your life in peace.
He gives them something, Zedekiah. Throws Zedekiah a bone for doing something right.
Please remember this. Matthew 18 verse 15 please. Matthew 18 verse 15.
I want you as Christians to say, you know what, things that are in the Bible that are clear, easy to understand, easy to follow, that's what I have to do.
That's what I'm going to do. God says to do it this way. I'm not going to do it my own way.
Matthew 18 verse 15 reads,
Brethren, there's going to be times that we have conflict. You may have conflict with your brethren. You may have conflict with me.
You know what, if you've been offended, someone has done wrong to you, what's step number one? What's the first thing that you do?
You go to that person alone. Say, brother, you've done me wrong. There's something here that we need to talk about.
Listen, this is easy, clear to understand. Just as easy and clear as it was, let your lands rest in the seventh year.
Let your servants go in the seventh year. Easy to do. Okay? Clear. Not complicated.
And brethren, this works. I'm telling you, this works. 99% of your fights and debates and conflicts will be resolved if you just go one on one.
Not only does this work in church and brethren, it works even in the workplace. I've tried it. I remember I had some supervisors under me.
They would not get along. One day I had one supervisor come up to me. I've got to tell you about so and so. I've got to tell you what they did.
I'm like, wait, wait, wait, wait. Let's try this biblical principle. You take that person. I'll make sure someone covers you while work is going on so you guys can do this.
You take them. There's an empty office over there. Take them alone. I don't want to hear about it. If you guys can't sort it out, then I'll deal with it as your boss.
But for now, take it to that person alone. Go into that office. Go talk about it. Take an hour if you have to. Boy, they went in there. I was like, oh, what's going to happen?
I'm trying to watch. Is it getting heated over there? They come out. He smiles. The person that wanted to bring the accusation, they issued it to me and said, wow, that worked.
So easy. It's a biblical principle. It even works with unbelievers. But it's easy. Verse 16 then says,
But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
So you only take it to more people if that person does not want to sort it out with you. They don't want to make peace. They don't want to reconcile.
They don't want to forgive or whatever it is. They don't want to apologise. Well, that's when you take it to other people.
Now why am I saying this? I'm saying this because, just like the people in Jeremiah's day, clear, easy to understand instructions.
If they just followed it, Zedekiah tried a little bit. God sees it. God sees the righteousness. You honour God. God be pleased.
But when you decide, I'm going to do it my own way, it might look like it's fine for a while, but eventually the judgement is going to fall.
Eventually it falls. And it's worse. It's much worse than what it would have been if you just did it the right way to begin with.
You know, people sometimes ask me, why are you so particular about certain things?
Listen, you've got to sort that out one on one with the person first. Why? Because I've got a fear of God.
Something that is so clear and easy to follow. Brethren, you do it. You please God. Even if it's uncomfortable.
You say, Lord, this is what your word says? I'm going to do it your way, Lord. If I do it some other way, who knows what kind of judgement might fall upon me?
Who knows what kinds of problems it might develop? You think these people enjoyed captivity for 70 years?
Taken off their land, families being separated, destroyed, friends, people they know, armies, dead bodies all over the floor.
Listen, that should never have happened if they just followed the basic principles, the basic instructions, the basic commands that God gave them.
So let this be a lesson for us. Also a lesson of forgiveness. You know, if someone has done you wrong, learn how to forgive them.
Learn how to forgive them. Because there's no way they've done you as much wrong as you've done to the Lord. Okay, let's pray.